Last reviewed: .
Melt-value formulas
Precious metal: weight in grams ÷ 31.1035 × purity × spot price per troy ounce. Pound-priced metal: weight in pounds × recovery or content factor × benchmark price per pound. Primary aluminum: weight in pounds ÷ 2,204.62262185 × benchmark price per metric tonne. Calculators keep full floating-point precision internally and round displayed currency.
Market prices and fallbacks
Gold, silver, platinum, and palladium pages request browser-side prices from Gold API on load, every 60 seconds, and when a hidden tab becomes visible. Server-rendered fallbacks are snapshots, not live quotes; the visible status says which one is in use. Copper and aluminum use a dated, editable contract settlement from the official CME Metals Daily Bulletin. Local scrap markets can differ substantially.
Coin specifications
Coin catalogs calculate nominal contained pure metal, not worn weight or collector value. Source links on each catalog point to the U.S. Mint, Royal Canadian Mint, Royal Mint, Perth Mint, Banco de México, Swissmint, Royal Dutch Mint, and other issuing authorities where available. Issue ranges are narrowed when composition changed; uncertain transition-year coins require identification or testing.
Buyer quote methodology
MeltOffer does not assign generic percentages by buyer type because current primary sources do not support a defensible industry-wide range. Geography, lot size, resale potential, testing, shipping, refining terms, fees, and competition change the result. Enter an actual written quote percentage in the calculator and compare identical terms.
Published examples checked August 2, 2026
| Named buyer | Published policy |
|---|---|
| Midwest Refineries | 95% of contained gold; silver payables vary by material, including 90% for sterling or coin silver. |
| National Gold Rush | Its public gold calculator applies 85% of melt. |
| Express Gold Cash | Advertises up to 90% for jewelry or scrap and up to 98% for coins or bullion; “up to” is not a floor. |
| Money Metals | Publishes product-specific live bids rather than one generic bullion percentage. |
These are source examples, not endorsements or a market average. Policies, thresholds, fees, and bids can change; open the source before relying on one.
Review and corrections
Generated pages, formulas, internal links, schemas, sitemap entries, and AI-file URLs are checked in CI. Market fallbacks are reviewed before deployment. Report a specification or arithmetic error to corrections@meltoffer.com with the issuing-authority or exchange source.
Frequently asked questions
Are MeltOffer prices guaranteed live?
No. Precious-metal pages identify whether the browser loaded a current Gold API value or retained a dated fallback. Base-metal benchmarks and local rates are editable and must be confirmed before transacting.
Does MeltOffer publish generic buyer payout ranges?
No. Current primary sources do not support a defensible industry-wide range by buyer type. Enter an actual written quote percentage and check the named, dated examples above.
How can I report a calculation or coin-specification error?
Email corrections@meltoffer.com with the affected URL, the disputed value, and a primary exchange or issuing-authority source.